Big Changes Ahead For Atlantic City In Reform Plan

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- A package of bills approved Monday night by New Jersey lawmakers and sent to Gov. Chris Christie would bring big changes in the way the nation's second-largest gambling market does business, and would give the governor much more control over the struggling gambling resort.

Lawmakers passed key aspects of an Atlantic City rescue plan proposed last summer by the governor to help the struggling resort deal with withering competition from casinos in neighboring states.

Figures released Monday by the state Casino Control Commission show the city's 11 casinos' revenue was down nearly 10 percent in 2010, the fourth straight year it has dropped.

Over the last four years, Atlantic City has lost nearly a third of its casino business.

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